Husband and Wife will distributions differ

Husband and Wife will distributions differ
question

My wife and I have separate wills. We have one living son. In the event of both my wife and myself dying the son gets the estate. If he is not living, she has stated that her siblings divide the estate. My will states that my siblings divide the estate. What will be the resolution in this case? We all live in State X.

answer

Whoa, partner. Gun fight at OK Corral. If you die tomorrow, and your wife dies years later. Not much issue. Her family takes all if your son is not alive. If you are both killed in a car accident, the simultaneous death statute in your state, and the interplay of that and the will provisions, complicated by possible factual issues relating to the order of death, could create real fireworks. But on the positive side, at least the lawyers will make a lot of money over the battle (that was who you wanted to get most of your money wasn't it?). Why not divide the estate 1/2 your siblings and 1/2 your spouse's siblings. That shares better for all and seems more consistent with what you are attempting to do. Why should the distribution of marital assets depend on who goes first? What relevance is your dying first to the needs of your siblings, or the fairness of caring for them. Why choose?

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